After knocking off Oklahoma State to advance in the Big XII Tournament on Tuesday, the Central Florida Knights now face a BYU Cougars bunch that is looking to make a statement in their first-ever Big XII Tournament.
Central Florida Knights vs. BYU Cougars (-5.5, 145)
The Knights lost by just two points (90-88) on the road the last time these two teams played but they had a very uneven game to get it that close, trailing by as many as 18 points in the second half before scoring 59 points in the final 16:03 of the game.
That sort of run is unlikely to happen again considering BYU ranks 29th in the nation in opponent 3-point shooting percentage and 35th in points allowed on a per-possession basis.
While BYU’s defense isn’t quite the same on the road, allowing 11.4 points more per 100 possessions when outside of Providence, it isn’t as extreme as Central Florida’s home and road splits.
Entering the Big XII Tournament, Central Florida ranked 11th in points allowed on a per-possession basis but allowed 16.7 points more per 100 possessions in road games and ranked just 131st in points allowed per possession in road games.
The Cougars’ offense is based heavily around 3-point shooting, taking the third-highest percentage of field goal attempts from 3-point range at 50.3% and while the Central Florida defense has allowed opponents to make just 30.3% of the 3-point attempts at home, that number balloons to 36.6% in a road or neutral court setting, good for 289th in the nation.
With the Knights offense ranked 244th entering the Big XII Tournament in points scored per possession, the Cougars will put an end to their hopes of snagging an NCAA Tournament bid.
The Play: BYU -5.5
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